A Commitment to Stress Reduction

How does one keep her or his level of stress down to a healthy minimum? Before we attempt to answer this question, it is imperative that we define the cause(s) of our stresses. It would not be practical to try to rid our lives of increased stress without paying close attention what the causes are. Let us assume that an individual has constant stomachaches everyday, but only when driving to work at 7:15 am on a freeway in a major metropolitan city. As it turns out, these stomachaches have nothing to do with the individual’s diet. They are a frequent occurrence due to an increased level of stress that this person is experiencing. What was the cause of the stress? This individual had to be at work at 8:00 am every morning, and work was about 50 miles away from home. The fear of arriving at work late turns out to be the cause of this increased stress.

Returning to the original question, how does one keep her or his level of stress down to a healthy minimum? One of the most effective ways of actively minimizing stress is to clean up your environment. Porter (2003) defines stress as “an interaction between you and your environment that causes you to feel uncomfortable in any way” (p.4). What is making the individual above stressed out is the state of the environment. It has more to do with the state of the environment than with any actor in particular. The way that this person would clean up her or his environment is by seeking a healthy alternative.

What a good anger and stress management program teaches is that each individual can only control her or his actions, and not anyone else’s. Since this is the case, it is important that each of us invest in what we can do in order to decrease our levels of stress. For instance, the individual above could arrange to drive to work earlier than usual to avoid the rush-hour traffic. This may involve making some initial sacrifices (such as retiring to bed earlier and waking up earlier the next morning), but they are well worth the exchange of relief that will be felt having found and utilized a solution to the stressful problem.

Reference

Porter, James E. (2003). The Stress Management Journal: 28 Days to Stress Mastery.
Norwalk, CT: AudioVision/StressStop.com. Medical Advisor: Paul Rosch, M.D.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF, CEAP
Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers
http://www.andersonservices.com/
http://www.angertrends.blogspot.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinganger
www.anger-management-resources.org